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Berserker
Berserkers (or berserks) were Norse warriors who are primarily reported in the Old Norse literature to have fought in a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the English word berserk. Berserkers are attested to in numerous Old Norse sources. The Úlfhéðnar (singular Úlfheðinn), another term associated with berserkers, mentioned in the Vatnsdæla saga, Haraldskvæði and the Völsunga saga, were said to wear the pelt of a wolf when they entered battle. Úlfhéðnar are sometimes described as Odin's special warriors: "Odin's men went without their mailcoats and were mad as hounds or wolves, bit their shields...they slew men, but neither fire nor iron had effect upon them. This is called 'going berserk'. In addition, the helm-plate press from Torslunda depicts (below) a scene of Odin with a berserker—"a wolf skinned warrior with the apparently one-eyed dancer in the bird-horned helm, which is generally interpreted as showing a scene indicative of a relationship between berserkgang... and the god Odin with a wolf pelt and a spear as distinguishing features. Etymology The name berserker derives from the Old Norse berserkr (plural berserkir). This expression most likely arose from their reputed habit of wearing a kind of shirt or coat (serkr) made from the pelt of a bear (ber-) during battle. The bear was one of the animals representing Odin, and by wearing such a pelt the warriors sought to gain the strength of a bear and the favor of Odin. The element ber- was sometimes interpreted as berr-, meaning "bare", which Snorri Sturluson understood to mean that the warriors went into battle bare-chested, or "without armor" as men of Odin. This view has since been largely abandoned. Terminology To "go berserk" was to "hamask", which translates as "change form", in this case, as with the sense "enter a state of wild fury". One who could transform as a berserker was typically thought of as "hamrammr" or "shapestrong". For example, the band of men that go with Skallagrim in Egil's Saga to see King Harald about his brother Thorolf's murder are described as "the hardest of men, with a touch of the uncanny about a number of them...they were built and shaped more like trolls than human beings". This is generally interpreted as the band of men being "hamrammr". Origin This term has something in common with 'run amok'. The two phrases, as well as sounding rather similar, mean virtually the same thing. Their sources though could hardly be further apart. 'Run amok' derives from the Far East, whereas 'go berserk' is of Viking (Norse) origin. In that tradition a 'Berserker' was a warrior of great strength and courage, who fought with wild ferocity. The word is believed to be derived from 'bear sark', that is, bear coat. That berserker fighting tradition, in which the warriors took on the spirit (or even in their belief, the shape) of bears whilst foaming at the mouth and gnawing the edges of their shields, is the source of the Vikings' fierce reputation. It dates back to the first millennium but had died out by the 1100s and thereafter the word berserker didn't feature widely in the English language until the 19th century. There is a rival, but less widely accepted, version of the derivation. In this the Vikings were supposed to show their bravery by going into battle with their sark jackets open, that is, 'bare-sark'. They can phase into Bear's, wolfs and Bulls Appearances *Leo is the first to phase into his Bear form before he could phase into his wolf and Bull form, his fur is black and grey, he is also Black and grey in his bear and bull form as well as his wolf form as he is the leader, he is known to have killed at least 7 vampires, three witches and two werewolves as they are enemies with them as they have never got along with each other, he is the mate of Janet Alston *Steven Whitley His fur is dark brown and dark silver he is a lot bigger and more stronger then Leo, he is the mate of Eva *Renee Farrell Her fur is dark brown, dark silver and white along with dark grey spots, she is stronger then Steven because she has ability to lock on to her targets and powerful kill them *Eva Lawrence Her fur is dark grey and dark silver, as she is the cousin of Renee and is the mate of Steven, she is the slowest but is faster and powerful *Victoria Her fur is dark gold, light silver and sandy brown, she is the cousin of Eva and the younger sister of Nicholas and she is the mate of Benjamin Donaldson *Nicholas Lawrence His fur is light red and dark brown, he is the younger brother of Victoria and the cousin of Eva and is the mate of Renee *Benjamin Donaldson His fur is dark red, Dark brown and dark grey, he is the mate of Amy Hoffman and is the father of Jonathan Donaldson and Robbie Andrew Donaldson *Roparz Le Bal His fur is mixed white, black and light grey, he is the cousin of Leo and is the mate of Ingithora Ærinmundottir and is the father of Antonina Le Bal *Åsmund Egilsson His fur is silk black and light brown with dark brown eyes Category:Shape-Shifters